Boeing buoyed by $20b of idled Max jets valued like new

When Boeing ended a long commercial drought last month by handing over 737 Max jets to two top customers, the transactions marked a little-noticed break with tradition. The planes were built in 2019 but recorded as 2020 models when they were delivered, having sat dormant during the longest jetliner grounding in US history. The seemingly innocuous distinction could provide some financial relief for the beleaguered aerospace giant, which lobbied appraisers to accept the new approach. Hundreds of Max jets valued at about $20b are poised for similar age-defying treatment as they emerge from storage lots to join the fleets of such carriers as American Airlines and United. Their vintage will be based on when they’re delivered, even if that doesn’t happen for another year or two while air travel inches back from the coronavirus pandemic. Such arcane details are crucial to Boeing’s campaign to restore a little luster to its best-selling plane, which was banned in March 2019 after two deadly crashes. A newer model year adds millions of dollars to appraisals, a critical boost for a jet fighting to regain its footing in a depressed aircraft market. The company’s Max 8 planes have slipped below Airbus’ slightly smaller A320neo in value -- a humbling setback for Boeing after decades in which the 737 commanded a premium. “With the grounding being longer than expected and then followed by the Covid pandemic, values and lease rates have taken a hit,” said Douglas Kelly, senior vice president for asset valuation with Avitas Inc. “The A320neo has declined also, but not as much as the Max.” Story has more.<br/>